Friday, November 15, 2013

Commonwealth decides to wait till Saturday on Maldives

Colombo: The Commonwealth on Friday decided to wait till Saturday on how it should deal with Maldives, which has been struggling to elect a new president. Indian officials said the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) has given a recommendation to the Summit that the conference wait till Saturdaywhen the rescheduled polls take place.

On Wednesday, the Maldives was expelled from the CMAG, which is investigating the political chaos after repeated court interventions to prevent the country’s presidential elections. The Commonwealth Charter provides for expulsion of members where democratic form of government is not allowed. CMAG expressed “deep disappointment” that the Maldives presidential election process had not concluded prior to the expiry of Mohamed Waheed’s term in office. India too has expressed its disappointment with the postponement of run-off polls till 16 November and said a new President should be sworn in at the earliest. A run-off between Nasheed, who led the first round of the presidential polls on 9 November, and his rival Abdulla Yameen is scheduled for Saturday. The current polls mark the Maldives’ third attempt to elect a new President since September. The first election on 7 September was annulled by the Supreme Court, citing the rigging of voters’ lists, while the Elections Commission’s attempt to hold polls on 19 October was thwarted by police after a Supreme Court ruling. Meanwhile, Waheed has stepped down as President of the Maldives and left the country.